Through use, flat surfaces of wood furniture and the like often become damaged thus requiring the surfaces to be repaired and refinished. A process typically used by refinishers in repairing damage, such as nicks and scratches, is first to apply a wood filler to the damaged areas. To assure that the area is fully filled an excess amount of wood filler is deliberately applied which projects outwardly from the surrounding flat wood surface. This excess is commonly referred to as a crown. Once the filler material has hardened the crown is removed to reestablish the flat, smooth surface of the furniture.
In other cases furniture refinishers fill with polyester resinous burn-in sticks. In doing this a proper colored stick is selected which is applied with a burn-in knife heated to some 160.degree. to 180.degree. F. The synthetic material is melted into the crevice. A portion of its excess is removed with the hot knife during which procedure knife marks are commonly made on the immediately surrounding surface. The material is then cooled to set and finally leveled with sand paper and rubbing oil.
In some cases sandpaper may be used to remove crowns. However, since it only removes a small amount of material with each pass, its use is typically reserved for very small crowns. Larger crowns are removed with rasps or heavy grit sandpaper which inherently tends to damage the surface about the crown itself. Larger crowns are also removed with conventional planes. Planes usually have a flat, bottom plate with a slot through which a blade angularly extends with its cutting edge located slightly below the bottom surface of the plate. Planes however are actually designed for use in planing substantial areas rather than discrete crowns or the like surrounded by undamaged, finished areas. Thus their use often results in the surrounding area also being planed though such is not desired and indeed is detrimental. Realizing this, refinishers must use such planes quite gingerly in planing crowns. This, of course, is tedious and inefficient.
It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide a tool for use in more efficiently planing crowns to the level of the surrounding surface without damaging or planing the surrounding surface in the process as has heretofore occurred with the use of conventional planes, rasps and heavy grit sandpaper.